What do I need to get my Q6600 in the realm of 3.6?

[althius]

Is 3.6 OC possible on air? Probable? Likely? Doubtful? I see people getting to 3.0 no problem, but I am wondering what this setup will likely yeild? Is there any way to know until it arrives?

GIGABYTE P35-DS3L (I thought this would be a good choice, but another thread suggested the DS3L might not be great at OC'ing... should I consider a better model... like the DS3R? Will that make a difference?)

CORSAIR 520HX

ANTEC 900

ZALMAN 9700NT

ARTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

G-SKILL 4GB DDR2 800 4-4-4-12

Thanks in advance and please give me any/all suggestions!

 

[cnumartyr]

Open up CoreTemp and tell me what the VID is.

It's going to be hard to get on a 9700.

 

[nel]

DIP IT IN A WATER

 

[althius]

I'm ordering in the next couple of days, and I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect.

Is there a better option than Zalman? Should I go with the 120 Tower? I read it can be a little scarry when moving the case, which I do around once a month for LAN'ish type activities.

 

[Silverion77]

The TRUE (Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme) is the best thing out there....
Also depending on where you look, it can be cheaper than the 9700 (Jabtech, Petras Tech Shop)

You can probably move it but jsut be careful (dont drop it)

 

[althius]

Any thoughts on what sort of OC I should shoot for? Is the TRUE really that much better than the 9700?

 

[Silverion77]

Just go until you cant go any further. All chips are different so just see.
Most get around 3.6 others can only get 3.0 and some get 3.8+. It all depends.

The TRUE performs slightly better with nice fans and depending will perform more silent for the performance. Personally I feel like Zalman overprices their coolers.

 

[Evilonigiri]

A heatsink that can match the TRUE (without lapping of course) would be the Zerotherm Nirvana. It costs less and performs better...without lapping that is.

It outperforms the Zalman for sure.

 

[Silverion77]

You're very persistent with the Nirvana

Do you have one?? If so how was your drop in temps and is it that loud??

 

[Evilonigiri]

You're very persistent with the Nirvana

Do you have one?? If so how was your drop in temps and is it that loud??

Nope, don't have one. I'm planning to get one.

But I have read many reviews on it, saying it's loud on full fan speed. Obviously, if you get a powerful fan for the TRUE, it's still the best. But the fact that sometimes you need to lap it turns me off.

 

[Raviolissimo]

if you're planning to hit a target like that, a 50% OC,
i think you need to be prepared to buy more than
one CPU.

and also, to be prepared to buy more than one kind
of RAM.

i have the G-Skill DDR2-800 also, with an E6850,
but at stock speeds.

 

[cnumartyr]

if you're planning to hit a target like that, a 50% OC,
i think you need to be prepared to buy more than
one CPU.

and also, to be prepared to buy more than one kind
of RAM.

i have the G-Skill DDR2-800 also, with an E6850,
but at stock speeds.

...no

 

[Evilonigiri]

...no

...yeah

the e2160 easily does 80% OC.

 

[cnumartyr]

...yeah

the e2160 easily does 80% OC.

Lol.. did you read it at all?

The no was to buying more than one CPU, and more than one kind of RAM.

 

[althius]

More than one CPU... like... More than one so you can get a 'good one'... or more than one like 'you are going to fry one, so better have a backup'.

Is it possible to 'ruin' the CPU by attempting an OC?

 

[cnumartyr]

More than one CPU... like... More than one so you can get a 'good one'... or more than one like 'you are going to fry one, so better have a backup'.

Is it possible to 'ruin' the CPU by attempting an OC?

Yes its possible.

Likely? No.

Keep an eye on temperatures and don't push more than 1.5v through it and you will be fine.

 

[Evilonigiri]

More than one CPU... like... More than one so you can get a 'good one'... or more than one like 'you are going to fry one, so better have a backup'.

Is it possible to 'ruin' the CPU by attempting an OC?

As long as you do watch the temps, how the he|| can the pc burn up or get damaged from some moderate OCing?

Of course due to electro migration, the life of the cpu will decrease, but what OCer's gonna keep his or her pc for 5years?

EDIT: @cnumartyr- It pains me alright...

 

[basspig]

I'm hitting 3.5 completely stable without lapping, using the Zalman 9700. I could go higher, but the termperature starts to get into the uncomfortable region of life-shortening. I reckon with lapping, 3.6GHz would be easy to achieve.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6
XFX PVT80GTHF9 GeForce 8800GTS 640MB
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Mushkin Hp2-6400 Ddr2 4gb Kit
Western Digital Caviar HD 500G|WD 7K 16M SATA2 WD5000AAKS
SILVERSTONE TEMJIN SST-TJ06S-W Silver Aluminum
Seasonic S12 Energy Plus SS- 650HT Power Supply
Sony BWU-200S Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewritable Drive
HP LP3065 30" LCD Display
Turtle Beach Montego DDL 7.1 Dolby Digital
Pioneer DVR-112D
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Black Magic Design Blackmagic Design BINTSPRO Intensity Pro
Contour Shuttle-Pro

 

[Valtiel]

A heatsink that can match the TRUE (without lapping of course) would be the Zerotherm Nirvana. It costs less and performs better...without lapping that is.

It outperforms the Zalman for sure.

The Zerotherm Nirvana doesn't outperform the TRUE at this time.

http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cpu-coolers/zerotherm-nirvana-nv120-premium/4 Review shows the Nirvana beaten by the IFX-14 which is beaten by the TRUE-X (with a comparable fan). It has good price/performance though and can get pretty close to TRUE-X (within 2c!, even)

I'm hitting 3.5 completely stable without lapping, using the Zalman 9700. I could go higher, but the termperature starts to get into the uncomfortable region of life-shortening. I reckon with lapping, 3.6GHz would be easy to achieve.

Really? what are your temps?

if you plan on lapping I suggest http://www.easypckits.com/products/premiumlk/ its cheap and includes everything you need, except for a flatness-checker (engineer's ruler) and if you read a couple of guides its not too hard to do either. I just lapped my HR-05+ (~30c drop!! Delta T is now only 10c!!!!), Tuniq Tower-120 and Q6600 IHS with great success, about a 7c drop! unfortunately my board is flakey on vDroop and I suspect it to be my trouble reaching 3.6Ghz prime stable on my quad currently running at 3.55 @ 1.45v but CPU-z shows a .06 vdroop AT IDLE